The Rogues Who Went Rogue
Chapter 63

With the rising tension in the pindrop silence chamber, the other decipios in the room shrunk further into their seats despite not having anything to do with the attack in Blue Crescent. They simply felt ashamed of sharing that innate power with those who caused the diplomatic conflict. Xandar's grip on Lucianne's small hand tightened when he explained, "It was a nightmare. I felt like I was being caged at first then released into a world that is supposed to be real but really isn't. When the manipulation started taking effect, what I saw around me were only enemies, creatures that we've put behind bars and in solitary confinement less than a year ago. My friends and family who were fighting alongside me miraculously disappeared from sight. My wife...was missing."

He paused for a moment to be conscious of Lucianne's thumb stroking his hand, to make sure that she was really there with him before he continued, "Some part of me felt that she was in danger, that she was hurt, and I had to find her but the purported enemies were standing in my way. The worst part? When Lucy was right in front of me, I didn't see her. I saw Kelissa Kylton, the very creature that did everything within her reach to hurt my mate with the goal of being crowned. When the manipulation effects wore off and I started remembering, it was an even worse nightmare because I remember every detail of what I did to my allies, and worst of all, to my mate."

Juan, Lovelace, Azalea and every other creature who had been manipulated to turn against their friends could easily relate to what Xandar said. But no one dared suggest or could deny that what Xandar and Zelena went through were the worst. They were both manipulated to hurt their respective mates with the goal of killing them.

Xandar looked away from Rafael and everyone else as he pressed away the hot tears from the corners of his eyes and focused on Lucianne's voice cooing him through their link, 'It wasn't you, Xandar. It was the proditors. It really wasn't you, darling, please. You and your animal wouldn't have done that had you both known what was going on.

Xandar's head snapped to hers when whisper-yelled, "But we should have known, Lucy!”

Her soft and assuring orbs peered into his when she whispered, "It's a power that none of us of this generation is familiar with yet. It really isn't your fault. Now that we know a little more about it, we might just be able to find a way around it. There might be a weak spot somewhere or a defense mechanism that no book has taught us yet. We'll find a way, okay?"

"It's an archaic power that's as old as the King's Authority, Lucy. No one has ever found a way around it. What if we can't find a way?" Xandar questioned in worry and dismay. What he really was asking was: what if he was made to kill her? The thought of Lucianne dying by his hands shot an excruciating pain right to his heart. It constricted the veins in his being and strangulated his soul, making it so suffocating that his animal curled up into a tight ball just to cope with the torment.

Lucianne felt his fear, his anguish. Even so, she looked at him with determined eyes, and declared, "If we can't find a way, we'll CREATE a way, Xandar. Another first, right?"

Xandar could feel the power in her voice despite it being softer than usual, and a smile slowly graced his hopeless features. The tormenting thoughts stopped, and he could breathe again. Her determination gave him hope.

As the fear and agony subsided, he leaned in and pecked a kiss on her nose before conceding, "Right. Another first." A quick kiss on her lips before he muttered, "You're amazing."

After trying and failing to suppress her blushes and shy smile, she gently pushed her husband back into his seat. Her eyes went to Rafael but when she opened her mouth, Rafael immediately said, "If you'd prefer not to describe it, Your High-ness," his voice cracked at Lucianne's title, and he cleared his throat before he continued speaking while one of his legs shook under the table, "I completely understand. Perhaps that was a very inappropriate question to ask."

So much for wanting to help. If the king's answer could turn the faces of warm-blooded creatures stone-cold when he was only manipulated by four proditors, imagine what the queen's answer was going to do when her mind was invaded by ten! Rafael prayed to Lord that he didn't just ask a question that could further jeopardize diplomatic relations or, Lord forbid, start a war. His best friend would probably kill him before he even made it to the frontlines.

Christian then questioned with as much diplomacy as he could muster, "I don't mean to be rude, Rafael, but if you knew it was inappropriate, then why pose the question in the first place?"

Rafael was thankful that Christian didn't make him feel even more intimidated, and explained apologetically, "In all honesty, Your Grace, I was trying to assess the level of skill of those who were there, to see what we're all up against."

Greg had the most brilliant sarcastic retort to assert that whatever Rafael just said was complete bullsh*t, but before the words came out, Lucianne spoke to Rafael, “Then let's assess that together." Greg, in effect, had to deliberately shut his opening mouth. Being nice was getting painful.

Rafael wasn't even subtle in taking a breath and holding it as Lucianne began, "When the manipulation started, it felt like my mind walked into a wall, and when I turned, I just knocked into another wall, then another, and another. It was like they were trying to close my mind to all possibilities but one - the one they wanted me to see. My animal and I kept pushing back, because we could...sense that the route they were pushing our minds towards wasn't the right one." Rafael's eyebrows pulled together when he asked in disbelief, "You could 'sense' the manipulation, Your Highness?"

Lucianne replayed the mental attack and said, "I think so. You see, my animal's sense of smell could tell that what the proditors wanted to make me see wasn't what's real. They were trying to get me to see that Draxon and the vampires were Xandar and my family and allies. The only problem was that Draxon and the vampires didn't smell anything like Xandar and my allies, even though they looked like them in my head. And the other problem is that the illusion didn't exude the warmth that I'd normally feel with my loved ones. It just felt cold and suspicious. M animal could sense that my eyes weren't seeing what's real, and I just...trusted her."

There was a moment of stunned silence before Rafael turned to Pellethia and said out loud with wide eyes, "So, it's true then, Pelly. They really can sense the manipulation. We haven't heard of a creature who could do that since Bernard IV and his fifty espions. And that was..." he slumped back into his seat to do a mental count and exclaimed, "...more than two millennia ago!"

Lucianne leaned closer to her husband and asked, "Bernard IV?"